Ringo Starr’s Photo Mystery Solved? Teens In Photo Taken 50 Years Ago May Be Identified

Earlier this week, former Beatle Ringo Starr released a photo book of personal and rare images from his childhood to his days with The Beatles appropriately titled Photograph. However, there was one photo in particular that made headlines this week and prompted a search into the past.

During The Beatles first U.S. tour in 1964, Ringo took a picture of five teens peering out their car window after catching a glimpse of the band. Ringo stated that he’s always wondered who those teens were in that photo taken nearly 50 years, and this week, the public attempted to hunt down the identities of those fans to solve the mystery once and for all.

After mistakenly saying that he took the photo in Miami, the photo, which has been circulating online all this week, was likely taken in New York during the group’s first visit to the states.

According to the Miami Herald, a Boston attorney recognized those kids in the car as former classmates of Fair Lawn Senior High School in New Jersey in 1964, who cut class that day to see The Beatles arrive at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport.

Kenneth Kolpan told the Miami Herald that unfortunately, two of teens have died since the photo was taken. In an email to the Herald, Kolpan identified the “driver as the late Gary Van Dursen and the passenger in the front seat is Robert Toth. In the back seat, leaning out of the car window, is Charles Schwartz, of Sonoma, Ca., the girl on the left is the late Matty Blender of Portland, Or. and the second young woman, to the right, is Arlen Norbe Ressler.”

Ringo explained the story behind the photo was that he snapped the car full of kids just as they recognized the Beatle riding in his limo.

“They all put the windows down and I thought, ‘Hey, I got me camera, I’ll take them,'” said Starr according to CBS News. “And guess what? They really saw us and we saw them.”

None of the named parties above have confirmed that it is in fact them in the photo, but it seems the mystery is one step closer to being solved!